Blissfield school district seeking operating millage renewal

Voters in the Blissfield school district will decide Aug. 7 on the renewal of an 18-mill operating millage on non-homestead property.

David Frownfelder

Voters in the Blissfield school district will decide Aug. 7 on the renewal of an 18-mill operating millage on non-homestead property.

The five-year renewal, if approved, would extend the levy that expires in 2013 through 2018.

The millage is expected to raise $817,000 in 2014, the first year of the levy. Superintendent Scott Moellenberndt said the revenue is a significant percentage of the school district’s budget.

“It generates 8.32 percent of our revenue, and is obviously very important,” he said.

The tax is on commercial, industrial and rental properties and second homes. Revenue from it is used for general operating expenses ranging from payroll to utility bills to classroom supplies. It was started in 1994 as part of the Proposal A school funding changes that removed most school taxes from residential property taxes. The most a district can levy is 18 mills, and most districts levy the full amount because the state’s per-pupil funding amounts are set under the assumption that districts levy 18 mills.

Businesses with a taxable value of $100,000 will pay up to $1,800 a year if the tax is paid. In later years, the tax may be reduced to meet the state’s Headlee Amendment requirements regarding limitations in the growth of tax revenues.

The Blissfield school district consists of the village of Blissfield, Blissfield and Riga townships, and portions of Deerfield, Ogden, Palmyra, Raisin and Ridgeway townships. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 7.